Heavy users hit hard

The Orange County Register ^ | Friday, July 21, 2006 | ANDREW GALVIN

[DigitalVideoDude]

When Cynthia Ponce of Foothill Ranch got her electric bill from Southern California Edison, she thought it was a mistake.

The amount: $799.36, more than triple the previous month's bill of $259.35 for the 2,500-square-foot house – featuring an outdoor rock pool – where Ponce lives with her husband and two teenage sons.

[DigitalVideoDude]

My bill just arrived... $550. Next month, with the extra tier, my same usage would cost me $900. Now, I have to live in a cave like Osama.

[cripplecreek]

Mine was only a little over $50.

[Wolfie]

But Ponce says she's not sure where to cut back. She's already running just two of her three pool pumps for only five hours a day, an hour less than what's recommended during the summer, she said.

The Horror.

[edcoil]

This is sadly our government today - it takes over private businesses, passes laws to limit supplies then charges whatever it wants.

The 1st amendment in our Constitution was put in place for a large part due to King Henry the Eight creating a church (the C of E) to get more tithing (taxes).

We should have put into the Constitution not to allow government to take over theses services.

We need to get it right next time.

[Izzy Dunne]

Has anyone figured out that the "deregulation" hasn't worked because it wasn't deregulation yet?

[r9etb]

What the article left out -- and what's crucial for understanding whether or not these folks are getting screwed -- is some indication of what their power usage is, compared to normal.

[RipSawyer]

My bill just arrived... $550. Next month, with the extra tier, my same usage would cost me $900. Now, I have to live in a cave like Osama

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Nothing to see here, move on, the American standard of living is rising, real wages are higher than ever, blah, blah, blah.

[VeniVidiVici]

What a worthless freaking article with no kw/h numbers to go with it.

"And we also tell them about our Web site, where they can find energy saving tips."

Wow! The energy company is really going all out to help their customers reduce their energy usage!

[VeniVidiVici]

Can you explain more what this tiered usage is and the rates to go along with it?

[Sloth]

Mine was the highest ever this month!

Er... $125.

[Aliska]

My bill was less than $50 last month because I don't have central air. But I get it socked to me in the winter.

They need to check their math. $799.36 is not three times previous bill of $259.35; it is $778.05.

[Richard Kimball]

Texas supposedly has deregulation, but it's actually a cartel. One company sets the rate, and other companies bid within a half cent a kw hour. In natural monopolies, capitalism is a little tricky.

[jackieaxe]

The amount: $799.36, more than triple the previous month's bill of $259.35 for the 2,500-square-foot house – featuring an outdoor rock pool – where Ponce lives with her husband and two teenage sons.

This is what a liberal would call a 17% increase.

[mysterio]

We have no business making electricity out of natural gas. I wouldn't mind seeing NG banned outright. Nuclear, coal, and hydroelectric can fulfill our energy needs. Whoever is in charge of our government needs to do something right now to kill these regulations. We are in an energy crisis.

[Smogger]

Mine was $486.

I can't figure it out. I have the AC set to no less than 80 degrees throughout the day. It didn't seem to be running anymore than the previous month.

[Gabz]

Has anyone figured out that the "deregulation" hasn't worked because it wasn't deregulation yet?

Yup.

We just went through all this nonsense here in the mid-atlantic, and the fighting ain't over yet.

[Solson]

If you don't like the prices you pay for electricity, then shut stuff off. Get used to this folks, the utilities are DONE subsidizing wholesale market prices just because the government wanted it that way.

Want somebody to blame? Blame the regulators, blame yourself, blame your neighbors. Between bad regulation and rampant NIMBY-ism, energy prices will continue to rise.

Want cheap power for a long time, do everything in your power to deregulate ALL energy markets, support the move to Nuclear as quickly as possible, allow coal-burning plants, support LNG from Alaska, support ANWR and Gulf of Mexico drilling, support oil shale extraction in the rockies, support the building of refineries and get everyone you know to do the same.

It really is a simple issue - supply and demand. The supply is limited and the demand continues to rise. Either increase supply or reduce demand.

[bmwcyle]

Get out of CA.

[cripplecreek]

If you don't like the prices you pay for electricity, then shut stuff off.

It's why mine is so low

[DigitalVideoDude]

Baseline usage for my area: 337 KWh per month or about 11 KWh per day.

My usage last month was 2020 KWh. We are in a 30+ day heat wave and I was running the A/C about 5 hours a day. I have a pool pump that was running 8 hours a day. I have reduced the pump to 4 hours and we do not turn on the A/C any more.

Now that I am actually checking this thing, there is no way my house will operate on 11 KWh per day. I burn that with just a refrigerator, freezer, a light bulb, a fan and the TV. I've checked this over the last two days since this bill arrived. The A/C would burn 11 KWh in about 2 hours.

Even with a energy consumption lock-down, my bill is going to be huge next month.

Back to the Stone-age.